


The Sweetest Secret

by leannmanderson



Category: Game of Sultans (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Secrets, Unhappy marriage, cuteness, sweets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22421992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leannmanderson/pseuds/leannmanderson
Summary: Heather is searching for something to set herself apart from the Sultans other wives so he'll pay attention to her. Fazil gives her what she needs.
Relationships: Heather/Fazil
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	The Sweetest Secret

The last time that Heather had seen a storm like this, it had been back in Scotland. When the king had sent her father to be envoy to the Ottoman Empire, she had been disappointed to see so much desert, and everything was so different from home. Though her father had made fast friends with one of the Sultan’s viziers and her mother had become friendly with the Vizier’s wife, Heather had found her little joys in the marketplace.

  
It was there that she often overheard little secrets. And Heather liked hearing secrets. She was good at keeping them, but there was a thrill for her about knowing something others didn’t want known to the world at large and yet were willing to whisper to others in the Grand Bazaar.

  
And that was when she met him. She didn’t recognize him at first, for he was so young, and she had thought of the Sultan as some old man. But the Sultan this handsome young man was, and when he asked for Heather’s hand, her father, and Heather, were quick to agree.

  
It wasn’t until after the wedding that she discovered that the Sultan already had nineteen other wives, all of them with small children or pregnant. She had felt so special, but now she didn’t. Some of these women were far lovelier than she was. Others had skills, such as teaching, other languages, music, painting, or even medicine.  
That was why Heather was where she was now, hiding in the palace library, trying to pick up some skill, something, anything at all. She wanted so desperately to stick out for something other than her accent and her different faith.

  
But the thunder outside was making it difficult to concentrate, and then Vizier Fazil entered. Heather had never really gotten along with him, and she thought he looked so silly in that tall, boxy hat.

  
“Still trying to find something to set you apart from the others?” he asked.

  
“I’m thinking of trying pottery next.”

  
“Just don’t let Alessa’s cat get near you if you’re going to try something messy.”

  
“Who’s Alessa?”

  
Fazil sat down at the table across from her. “Alessa is the Sultan’s newest wife. He just brought her home, today, and she has a cat, making her more insufferable than you could ever be.”

  
“Not a cat person, Fazil?”

  
The vizier frowned. “Highly allergic, actually. And she insists on having the damned thing everywhere, even at banquets.”

  
“I prefer dogs, myself,” Heather admitted. “Back in Scotland we had a handsome wolfhound, but we left him with my uncle when we came here.” She looked at him. “I’ve a question. Why do you and Ayas wear such tall, boxy hats? None of the other viziers do, and it looks ridiculous.”

  
“Can you keep a secret?”

  
“You know I can.”

  
Fazil smiled and very carefully removed his hat, turning it upside down as he did so. He held it out for Heather to see. “This is why.”

  
Heather’s eyes widened. “It’s filled with sweets!”

  
“Ayas and I both have a bit of a sweet tooth. This is a convenient way to sneak our little treats without anyone noticing. But remember, it’s a secret.”

  
“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Heather said with a giggle. She reached for one without invitation.

  
Fazil just rolled his eyes even as he smiled indulgently. He took one himself before returning the hat to his head. “Heather, I’d like to entrust you with yet another secret, if I may. But you can’t tell anyone, not even the Sultan.”

  
“Keep a secret from the Sultan? But I’m his wife. What if he asks me directly? Who knows what could happen if I lie to him?”

  
“I understand, and if he found out, I could lose my position, but I simply must confide in someone that I’m in love.”

  
“But that’s wonderful. Why would the Sultan be angry that you’re in love?”

  
“It’s with one of his wives.”

  
“Oh.” For once, Heather couldn’t find anything to giggle about. “Fazil, that’s dangerous. How would you ever manage to keep it a secret if you were to engage in a relationship with her?”

  
“Well, she hasn’t borne him a child, yet. I’m hoping that perhaps he might be willing to part with her, if I beg hard enough, if I ever get the courage up.”

  
“I thought you said Alessa was more insufferable than I could ever be.”

  
“I did. And it’s not Alessa.” The look Fazil gave the blonde-haired Celtic girl was a pointed one.

  
Not Alessa? Then who? Heather’s mind ran through the other girls, but the only other one who hadn’t yet produced an heir for the Sultan was… “Oh! Oh…. Fazil, I have to admit that I’ve felt rather neglected by our dear Sultan, but I’m his wife. I must be loyal to him. It could destroy you and me and my family. I want to. Oh how I want to. We’ve never gotten along, but now I know you’ve only been aloof to me because…. Oh, this can’t end well.”

  
“I told your father about your situation,” Fazil said. “He admitted that he never would have given his consent for you to wed the Sultan if he had known that you would be one of twenty. Well, twenty-one, now. And you’re not even a favorite. And really, you’re no more than a concubine. The Quran only allows four legal wives.”

  
“A Christian man only takes one. And divorce is unheard of. But it wouldn’t be divorce, would it? I’m naught but a married man’s mistress in my homeland.”

  
“But here you are a royal concubine, and you have been for over a year.”

  
“And in that time the Sultan has only visited me once, on our supposed wedding night.” Heather was sinking into despair. Fazil was offering her something she wanted. Real love. A real marriage. But only if the Sultan approved. And he never would. She belonged to him.

  
She noticed, then, that Fazil had stood up and moved around the table. “I’m not even supposed to be alone with you in here. I had to work hard to keep the eunuchs and other servants from seeing me slip in. But I had to tell you the truth.” He pulled her up from her chair, then, and kissed her.

  
His lips on hers felt amazing. Heather hated pulling away. “We’ve got to get the Sultan to release me from his harem, to let me belong to you.” She kissed him this time, quickly. Then she giggled. “Until then, I won’t tell if you won’t.”


End file.
